Coptic Museum of Canada (Formerly St. Mark's Coptic Museum)

This morning I had the absolute privilege of a personal tour of the Coptic Museum of Canada (formerly St. Mark’s Coptic Museum) and St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Scarborough, by curator and sociologist Dr. Helene Moussa.

I’m officially a bit overwhelmed, in a good way. Dr. Moussa’s stories and explanations about the art and artifacts in the museum’s collection answered questions I’ve had since a visit to a Coptic church in Cairo 15 years ago, and left me with many more.

For instance, Dr. Moussa’s etymological diagram made it clear that the word Copt derives from the the Greek word Aigyptos, meaning Egyptian; something I’d never realized.

Furthermore, if I understand correctly, the Copts, unlike the Muslim population of modern-day Egypt, are descended from ancient Egyptians, which is astonishing.

Coptic Christianity dates back to the first couple of hundred years after the lifetime of Christ. The people who converted to Christianity were the ancient Egyptians, as well as Jewish, Greek and Roman inhabitants of Egypt. This is even clearer when alongside the art of Coptic Egypt you consider the Coptic language preserved in ancient papyri and manuscripts and still used in the Coptic liturgy today.

[…]So who are the Copts? They are the ancient Egyptians. Their art, language and religion are directly descended from the art, language and religion of the land of the pharaohs.Jonathan Jones in The Guardian: Who Are the Coptic Christians

I like this Facebook video in which Dr. Moussa demonstrates an ancient tool used by scribes in monasteries to write in straight lines.

And this nine-minute video in the style of a Q&A (“Did you know?”) goes further into the background of the museum and its collection of over 1,500 items, including manuscripts, paintings, jewellery, coins, icons, stamps, textiles, and much more (the oldest of which is an Egyptian faience beaded necklace from 1351 BC!).

At the moment, the museum is focusing upon acting as a resource collection for scholars around the world. However, the museum and special library (!) are open upon request by emailing Dr. Moussa at copticmuseumcanada@gmail.com.

Coptic Museum of Canada is museum no. 48 in my #100museums challenge (see 100 Museums Challenge).